I love my Mighty Mouse. Like many others, my grubby hands eventually caused the scroll ball to stop scrolling in one or more directions. I tried the official Apple instructions to clean the ball, but it didn’t really work. Others have suggested compressed air and other tricks, but I didn’t have any luck with those, either.
I came across this solution out of frustration, nearly ready to give in and buy a new mouse.
WARNING: Follow these steps at your own risk. The mouse ball is a rubbery substance, and you might end up shredding it like an eraser.
- You will need a clean sheet of paper, along with a stack of paper or a full envelope.
- Place the clean sheet of paper on top of the other material on a table, so you have a slightly cushioned surface.
- Holding your unplugged mouse upside down, drag the ball along back and forth across the paper. I suggest working in a cross pattern (up and down, also left and right), and a circle pattern.
- You’ll see the gunk coming off the sensors onto the paper. I recommend avoiding to continue rolling the ball across anything that comes off onto the paper.
- When you’re done, be careful, that ball is probably HOT. Blow on it for a few seconds before trying out your newly cleaned mouse.
Wow, finally a solution that is quick, easy and works. Like you I tried Apple’s suggestion and many others on the web, all with mixed results and nothing that really worked great. Spit and paper towels was the best I had. Now, I just did this and other than disgusting me with the amount of gunk it, it worked perfect. Thanks.
hahahahaahahah…i have NO IDEA how this works, but, IT DOES….i wass ready to give up and get another mose, nothing worked, so i tried this…i grabbed a stack of paper and started rubbing the ball all over up down and side to side…as the gunkk staarted falling out i moved to a new sheet of paper…i am back up and running…GREAT solution!
WOW!!!! I spent over an hour last night trying to clean the mouse and that got some stuff out but this really works!!!! Thanks so much. The mouse works now.
Wow; I laid a clean sheet atop my soft mousepad, and while I didn’t see visible material come out, a short bit of vigorous rolling restored the failing direction. Glad I didn’t have to pry the thing open! Thanks,
Wow, I broke one mouse trying it open it and your brilliant solution helped me save the 2nd one in 1 single minute.
Apple should replace that useless document and put this instead.
Thanks man
Ok, this took me about 15 seconds to perform and “IT WORKS”.
I’d totally lost the forward scroll but now it’s almost perfect, will give it another go after typing this to make it 100%
This is the greatest tip, beats anything I’ve seen or read.
I juts came home from the store after purchasing a new Logitech Revolution, now at least my wife will get an all working Mighty for her macbook.
Thank you!
Agreed! I too found this to work great after attempting to clean the ball with alcohol and small pieces of paper jammed in between the ball and housing. I was starting to give serious consideration to mouse surgery but thankfully I found this site before I found a scalpel. Thanks iotashan!!!!
Thanks!
This works great! This should be the technique of choice on Apple’s support page.
I was considering buying a new mouse until I found this tip. Just a few seconds each of horizontal, vertical, then circular motion and the scrolling function is restored.
This really works!! I was getting ready to pry the mouse open. I was looking for the link to those instructions when I came across this. I used a microfiber cloth that I use to clean my macbook screen. I can’t believe all the crud that came out of that tiny hole! Thank you again for posting this awesome tip
Karl
This is GENIUS!! Works like a charm.. I agree, this should be on the official support page from Apple..
wow i forgot how nice it was to have working balls
It really works !!! Thank god I didn’t have to take it apart !
You, my friend, are a genius! Thanks for saving me time, trouble, and money.
This is awesome. You’ve made the world a better place.
Awesome Work! That really brought my mighty mouse back to life
Haha, so simple but works a treat. I was all but ready to try open the sucker up!
Iotashan, Thank you! you saved me 70 bucks!
This actually worked!!!
This, my dear, is genius. I’ve had my mighty mouse for years now, and I’ve always had some troubles with it. Most of the time, other methods would temporarily worked. But a year ago, all else failed and I had to perform surgery. It worked very wll, but was very annoying and time-consuming. Anyways, my mouse had fully stopped scrolling down recently, and I don’t have the tools for surgery anymore. Luckily I stumbled across this, and was extremely skeptical. However, it has worked like a charm. I rubbed pretty vigorously in long strokes along the paper, and sooner or later a huge chunk of gook fell out of my mouse. Now it scrolls like a champ!
thanks so much for this suggestion. Since my Mighty is working again, I guess I can’t ask for a Magic from Santa?
Absolutely fantastic, thank you sooooo much
Holy cow! Thank you for this awesome solution. It worked GREAT.
Excellent!!! The circle motion worked best for me. Good as new! Thanks for your help.
Wow thank you so much! It definitely is an easier alternative to dissecting the mouse.
BEWARE…. THIS JUST CRACKED MY BALL……LOL
Okay, I’ll say it worked, but I also managed to break something. Poor little mouse ball apparently didn’t care for the excess rubbing… and tried to retract itself back into the mouse. So be forewarned, Know your own strength, and be GENTLE WITH YOUR MOUSE BALLS. Lest you loose the click ability (I used this for dashboard)….. now I am forced to move my hand over a whole 8-12 inches now to hit the button on my keyboard. Poor Poor wireless mighty mouse, you will never have children thanks to the actions of your owner…:)
@Jeff –
Yeah, don’t press hard enough to break it
I actually found the BEST way to NEVER have to clean the ball again… get a Magic Mouse instead
This is the best cleaning suggestion that I have tried.
Color me surprised. Took two doses for me, but I now have a fully functioning mighty mouse. Thanks!
Absolutely brilliant idea, took about one minute and works fine now. Good work!
Brilliant! The trick is to move the ball ‘vigorously’.
I see the gunk coming off onto the paper, avoid the ball’s path to meeting this debris.
The action of the ball returns!